To Guard the Living
by Anica106
Summary: When a body is discovered, and Conan finds himself investigating the murder of detective Shinichi Kudo, secrets are revealed, old enemies resurface, and nothing is quite what it seems. Crossover with Magic Kaitou.
1. A sparkling prism

A/N: This is something that kind of just came to me as I watched Conan discover his 1,574th random dead body the other night. I thought, "Would he just have a heart attack if one time it was someone he knew?" and that kind of mutated into what you now have before you. Yes, this crosses over with Magic Kaitou, because those characters are just too much fun to leave out of this, and they happen to be necessary to pulling off the plot. If I decide to put any hints of romance in here, they will probably be between Shinichi and Ran, but since that happens every couple of episodes in the anime it shouldn't be too big a shock to anyone. By the way, this takes place before Kid knows who Conan is. (grins) Let the games begin.

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaitou. I am nowhere near clever enough to plan out all those heists, or to come up with 300+ ways to murder someone and darn near get away with it.

To Guard the Living  
Ch. 1: A sparkling prism

It was the kind of night that makes people fall in love with big cities.

The stars, wrapped contentedly in the midnight sky, were mirrored billions of miles below by the glittering windows and headlights of those who chose not to spend the night in sleep. Cars slid through the city in single file , illuminated by streetlights and neon signs, the sound of their engines eerily muted. The people that drifted down the sidewalks like ghosts kept their hands in their pockets, their heads down, and if they did speak, it was in the same hushed tone, as if any sound they made was somehow muffled by the millions of dreams taking place around them.

If, as some like to believe, the stars are in fact souls suspended in the sky, they must have believed Tokyo to be some kind of marvelous ornament decorating the Earth, a sparkling prism that shone every color of light imaginable.

And if the moon, not quite full, did in fact have eyes with which to guard the living, she must have wondered that night why there were so many flashes of red and blue coming from one particular area...

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Twelfth Street Jewelry Store ("_Hand-Crafted Excellence Since 1952") _was not normally at the center of so much excitement. Situated between a small antique store and a cafe favored by couples, it was content to display reasonably priced sapphire necklaces and bracelets studded with rubies, as well as more expensive diamond rings in case a night at the aforementioned cafe should turn into something more.

Tonight, however, the store's owner had decided to catch the attention of passersby with something slightly more noticeable. Thediamond had been in his family for generations, and he felt that its presence in his store would bring him good luck from his ancestors. It sat surrounded by black velvet inside a glass cube in the middle of the store.

Or at least, it had.

"Damn it! What the _hell _happened to the floodlights!"

Saguru Hakuba tensed in irritation. "What do you think happened to them? The same thing that always happens to them when you plug them all in to the same power source!"

Inspector Nakamori whirled around, gladly taking out his frustration on the blonde boy. "Watch it, detective," he growled, and Hakuba noted with annoyance that there was a trace of sarcasm in the title. "I'm _allowing_ you to watch because you've been helpful in the past, but if you get in the way I'll have my men escort you off the premises. This isn't a game, all right?"

"Oh, really?" Hakuba snapped, glancing up from the jewel's still-intact glass case. "Well, that's good. Because if it were, this would be a rather embarrassing loss on your part, wouldn't it?"

The inspector's face reddened. "My part, huh? I sure as hell didn't see _you_ lift a finger to help."

Hakuba returned to his examination of the glass. "I'm trying to help, Inspector, but it's a bit difficult to concentrate when you're screaming curses at the last twelve generations of Kid's family right in my ear."

Footsteps on the stairs made both of them turn around. Forgetting the argument, Nakamori eagerly ran to greet Officer Ishihara. "So?"

Ishihara shook his head miserably. "We searched the whole building. And everything around it within five miles. He's gone. He flat-out disappeared. We didn't even see him leave."

Hakuba's fists clenched. Nakamori's reaction was rather louder, but as this was not uncommon no one paid too much attention.

"Where did the guards at the rear door go?" Hakuba demanded, surveying the crowd of disappointed policemen. "You left your posts during the heist. He must have escaped through there. What happened?"

Two of the men looked sheepishly at each other. "Well..." one ventured, "It's just that...Detective Kudo said we were needed on the roof..."

Hakuba stared blankly, beyond words. Nakamori grabbed the guards by their collars and yelled, "Kudo? _Kudo?_ You left your post because you think _Kudo_ told you to? What on God's earth would Kudo be doing here? How much am I paying you people?"

Hakuba turned back to the empty display stand, pressed his hands against his ears, trying to shut out everything but the facts of the case. "He moved it a little..." he murmured.

Nakamori threw up his hands. "He's _gone_, Hakuba. The jewel is _gone_. He beat us. He pulled it off. Why the hell does it matter _how_ he did it?"

Hakuba turned abruptly and shoved a finger in Nakamori's face. "Because it _is_ a game, Inspector. It's a game because that's how _he_ sees it." He was breathing hard. He forced himself to drop his hand, trying to calm down. Getting worked up wasn't going to help matters. He glanced out the window at the moon, noticing absently that it was almost full. "And the only way to beat him is to figure out how he plays."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Diamonds really were beautiful, Kaito Kuroba thought as he gazed up at the moon. He didn't think they were worth all the hype that surrounded them--society's attitude that a man didn't really love a woman unless he gave her a diamond was, to him, absolute idiocy--but he had to admit, as his hand closed around the one in his pocket, that there was something enchanting about them. It was a sort of cold, merciless beauty, and he could see how someone might be driven to kill for one.

_I wonder if anyone's ever killed for this one, _he thought idly, pulling the stone out to look at it. It was beautifully cut, and set with a fine gold chain. As soon as he had picked it up that night, Kaito had thought how silly it was to think of wearing something that heavy around your neck. It seemed like it would weigh you down, like the albatross in that poem Hakuba had made him read. _Maybe it's heavy with the sins that have been committed in its name._

Kaito grinned at the rather poetic idea. It sounded like something Shinichi Kudo would say. He covered a laugh, resisting the temptation to shout that line about truth Kudo always said when he solved a case. He admired his reflection in the dark, dusty window of an office building. The disguise really was perfect, right down to the last detail. It was too bad no one had gotten a chance to appreciate it except two dimwit guards. Maybe someday he would track down Mr. and Mrs. Kudo and invite himself in for tea.

Tea sounded good. Kaito grinned again, pocketing the diamond, and began to walk home, fading into the moonlit fog.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Do you have the item we requested?"

Gin kept his eyes on the trembling man standing in front of him, while Vodka peered around through the fog to ensure that they remained alone. Hiroto Souma, sweat running visibly down his balding forehead, removed a small disk from his pocket and shoved it in Gin's direction.

"There," he said, his voice shaking with fear, but obviously also with anger. "Take it. Just take it and get out of here. I never want to see you again."

Vodka grinned, his eyes fixed on the street outside the alleyway, and Gin's lips curved slightly as he reached out and took the disk, maintaining contact for a second longer than was necessary. "That's too bad. I get the feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on."

Souma's fists clenched. "Bastards."

"Don't get too friendly," Gin said, his smirk fading into a more businesslike expression. He looked at Souma coldly. "If this is really what we asked for, your secret's safe for now. Don't talk about this to anyone, Mr. Souma."

Souma glared at him. "That's obvious."

"It's _obviously_ not," Vodka commented from his post, "or you wouldn't be in this mess, would you?"

Souma flushed. He couldn't think of anything he'd like to do less than stand and chat with these two, but he had seen what they did to people who trusted them enough to turn their backs on them. He bit his lip, hesitating.

Gin raised an eyebrow at him. "You're dismissed," he said, his voice faintly mocking.

Souma gritted his teeth, decided he valued his life more than his dignity, and walked backwards out of the alleyway and around the corner of his office building, Vodka's laughter ringing in his ears.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Akako's eyes flew open.

She lay still for a few seconds till her vision cleared, then sat up and clutched her sheets, breathing hard. _What the hell was that?_

All she remembered of the dream was Kuroba...only he didn't look like Kuroba...he looked like...Akako grabbed her forehead, trying to remember. Someone else...but no, it was Kaito, and he was--

Blood.

Akako hissed at the sudden image, her fingernails digging into her skin. What was going on? She hadn't cast a scrying spell...She shook her head to clear it and glanced out the window beside her bed, noticing as she did so that the moon was almost full. She bit her lip, looking around the silent bedroom as if she might see Kaito bleeding to death on her floor

Her muscles tensed. This was stupid...it had just been a dream. There was no reason to get so worked up. What did she care about Kuroba?

But wait...what _did _she care about Kuroba? Why...why would she have a dream like that? She looked again at the almost-full moon. Unless...

Unless it wasn't just a dream.

Her mind made up, she swung her feet over the edge of her bed and dropped to the floor. Silently, she made her way through the halls of her massive house, stopping at the black door with the silver handle. Opening it as quietly as she could, she slipped inside and faced her scrying mirror. She wasn't sure she had enough power to cast this spell at this time of the month, but...if the moon had given her that vision, then it was obviously telling her that she couldn't afford to wait till it was full. She muttered the familiar incantation and watched as the surface of the mirror clouded and swirled to form images of the not-too-distant future.

"Oh, God..."

Akako pressed her lips together. She didn't have time for whimpering. If she was going to stop this, it would have to be now. She straightened, businesslike, and ran out into the hallway, opening the first window she found. She let out her breath, forcing herself to calm down, and the night itself seemed to lift her off her feet, pulling her into itself, until she was a quickly fading silhouette against the white moon.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vodka studied the disk in Gin's hand. "So what's so important on this thing that we had to come all this way in the middle of the night?"

Gin pocketed it with an unconcerned shrug. "As long as we get paid, I don't really care. It had better be whatever they're looking for, though. If we get in trouble with the bosses because that little coward lied to us..." He trailed off.

Up ahead, in the distance, a figure was appearing out of the fog. As he came closer, Gin saw that it looked to be a teenage boy...but it couldn't...it couldn't be who it looked like...

Vodka's mouth dropped open as saw what Gin was staring at. "Christ, Gin, is that...?"

They quickly backed up into the protective darkness of the alleyway. The boy, smiling cheerfully, walked right past them without giving them a second look.

Vodka licked his lips nervously. He knew that, even if it was...him...he was just a teenager, but...he had to admit the _ghost_ of a teenager was a little more worrisome. "Did he see us?"

Gin's hand shook slightly as he drew his gun. "It doesn't matter. I'm doing it my way this time."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Souma watched fearfully from behind a telephone booth. Some kid had just walked out into the street, right in front of the two men in black. The men had a short conversation, then the tall one...Souma's eyes widened as he pulled his gun and began to walk quickly but silently after the kid.He shut his eyes tight...

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kaito glanced up again at the moon. _Not quite full_, he thought. He would have to wait a few more days to check the gem. Which meant that Inspector Nakamori would probably gripe about not getting it back as soon as usual. But the gem was only going to be on display this week, and it was such an impressive stone that Kaito hadn't wanted to miss the opportunity to see if it was the one...

He shrugged. Whatever happened, would happen. Nakamori would get over it.

He blinked as he heard footsteps approaching him on the otherwise deserted street. Someone wanted to talk to him at this hour? His heart skipped. Had the police found him?

He suddenly caught sight of himself in a nearby window. _Oh, yeah,_ he thought. _Shinichi Kudo. I'm kind of a celebrity, aren't I?_

He turned, smiling, to greet the figure emerging from the fog...

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The boy turned around, and Gin fired.

The kid's mouth opened slightly as he stared uncomprehendingly at Gin, then down at his chest, where blood was beginning to seep through his clothes. He swayed slightly.

"What...?" he managed to choke out faintly before he stumbled and fell to the pavement, still staring up at Gin.

Gin backed up to avoid the blood pooling around Kudo's body, pocketed his gun, and beckoned to Vodka. Throwing the corpse one last look, the other man swallowed slightly and nodded, and the two of them faded into the shadows.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_The next morning..._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Breakfast at the Mouri home was an unusually quiet affair that day. Kogoro's recent lack of cases had caused both him and Conan to sink into a sort of bored stupor, and Ran, as she pulled out bowls and plates, was content to enjoy the rare stretch of peace.

Kogoro threw down his newspaper with a sigh and absently stirred his coffee. On the couch, Conan's book of crossword puzzles slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor. He gave a sigh identical to Kogoro's and didn't bother to retrieve it.

Ran rolled her eyes. She supposed you could have too much of a good thing. She reached for a cup to pour herself some coffee, then picked up the remote and turned on the news just in time to hear the word "murder."

She rolled her eyes again. "There, now, did you hear that? A nice murder. That ought to cheer you both up."

Kogoro and Conan glanced listlessly at the TV screen as the newscaster began to speak gravely. "Local police discovered a body this morning near Kitasawa Industries's main office building. The victim has been identified by Inspector Megure as Shinichi Kudo, a high school student who had gained some local fame as detective."

Time seemed to stop.

Conan somehow found himself on the floor. He realized dimly that he must have fallen off the couch. He...he couldn't have heard correctly. He glanced over at Kogoro, who had frozen with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth, and turned numbly back to the TV screen.

"Kudo was shot once in the chest, by a gun that is, as of now, untraceable. It is possible that this was a professional hit."

As if in a daze, Conan reached out to touch the picture on the screen. It was..._him_. That was...him...lying on the ground in a pool of blood, an expression of shock on his motionless face...a hole in his chest...Conan swayed. _What...what the hell?..._

"Jesus..." Kogoro breathed, his face white. Suddenly, he tensed and leaped to his feet, running into the kitchen.

Conan, still gazing transfixed at his own corpse, jerked violently at the sound of breaking china.

"Inspector Megure asks anyone who may have information regarding this case to come forward as soon as possible. It is hoped that this terrible crime will soon be solved, and that the shooter will be brought to justice."

Kogoro stood in the kitchen, an unconscious Ran in his arms, staring grimly down at the shattered pieces of the coffee cup. As Conan watched, the hot brown liquid spread across the entire kitchen, ruining everything it touched.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N: Please review with any suggestions!


	2. As the breath of a ghost

A/N: Hi, everyone. I would say sorry for the late update, but as those of you who keep up with my other stories know, this is really unusually quick for me. Not to depress you or anything...(grins) Seriously, thank you guys for being patient. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

To Guard the Living

Ch.2--As the breath of a ghost

__

Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

Hakuba was jerked out of his almost-doze by the polite but annoyingly persistent beeping of the thermometer. He blinked dazedly and managed to drag one of his arms out from beneath a mountain of blankets and, after a few failed attempts, use it to locate his face. He pulled the still-beeping instrument out of his mouth and squinted at the readout.

After the few seconds that his stupefied brain required in order to decipher "103.5," Hakuba gave a weak groan and let his head fall back onto his pillow. This was just lovely. He _needed_ to be at school, or, if he had to be home sick, studying the notes he'd taken at the crime scene last night. Instead, he found himself lying spread-eagle in bed as if his personal gravity had increased by ten, unable to do more than occasionally jab the channel button on the remote control in a desperate attempt to solve the age-old dilemma of whether Springer or Judge Judy was the lesser of two evils. Obviously, detective work was out.

Of course, _he_ would be at school this morning. Hakuba scowled at the unfairness of life. He wasn't at all convinced that his current pathetic state wasn't due in large part to last night's little excursion to Twelfth Street. He'd remained in the dark building long after the heist, examining the walls, the carpet, the display stands, inch by inch, finally standing up straight and just staring at the empty room as a whole, as if it might whisper some secret to him if he listened hard enough. After a few hours of this, Nakamori, who had been watching him, had made the gentle but firm suggestion that Hakuba go home and get some sleep before he made himself sick. _A little too late, _he thought, picking up the remote again and finally settling on an episode of Looney Tunes. Nakamori had looked a little worn himself by the end of the evening. Hakuba couldn't blame him; after all that waiting and planning, to come out empty-handed, _again_...

__

Not empty-handed, he corrected himself tiredly. _Never empty-handed. We have a new crime scene, with new evidence. He left some trace, some clue, that he's never left before. We just have to find it._

__

Which, he concluded, feeling his eyes begin to close, _I _can't. _Because I feel like I've been hit by a train_.

He stared numbly at the TV screen, watching as Wile E. Coyote put together an ingenious contraption involving skis and a refrigerator, only to sail right past Roadrunner and off a cliff. Roadrunner peered over the edge and watched with obvious amusement as Wile E. hit the ground in a shower of ice cubes. Hakuba scowled again and changed the channel. _Damn bird_.

About to simply turn the TV off and take a nap, Hakuba paused at the sight of a news program on channel four. He quickly hit the "record" button on his remote (he always taped the news--reexamination of it had yielded helpful clues on more than one occasion) and settled back, feeling slightly more cheerful. His tendency to get excited at the prospect of watching the news was a major source of amusement for Kuroba ("OK, everybody, we have to be quiet now, Hakuba's been waiting all month to see _this_ episode--it's the season finale!"), but Hakuba _did_ enjoy the program--every day, even more than once a day, you could watch a never-before-seen episode of The World, and Hakuba found this incredibly exciting. He might actually _solve_ a murder that happened on The News. He might see something today that would change his life forever.

He'd never told Kuroba this. There was something dangerously close to sentiment in that line of thinking, and he preferred to keep all traces of _that_ to himself.

Realizing he'd let his mind wander, Hakuba focused whatever feeble powers of concentration his fever had left him back onto what the newscaster was saying in time to register "murder." The word was like a shot of adrenaline, and he was instantly more awake than he'd been all morning.

"--high school student Shinichi Kudo was found next to Kitasawa Industries's main office building earlier this morning. No new information on this case has come to light."

Hakuba stared at the corpse, mildly interested. He had never met Shinichi Kudo, but had read about several of the cases he'd solved in the newspaper, and his obvious intelligence and eye for detail had impressed Hakuba. Nakamori said he'd even come close to catching Kid once or twice.

__

That's a shame, he thought, vaguely troubled without quite knowing why. _He would've been great._

The newscaster was now commenting on a boating accident that had exposed a smuggling operation, but Hakuba, on an impulse, stopped his tape and rewound it, freeze-framing on the picture of the dead detective. He bit his lip, frowning. Kudo...

__

He's been missing, he realized suddenly. _I knew there was something. He's the one who hasn't been heard from for about a year now..._

Hakuba stared thoughtfully into Kudo's lifeless blue eyes. _And the night he shows up, he gets shot._

His frown deepened. There was no way it was a coincidence. Someone had been waiting for him. Hakuba's pulse quickened with excitement. Kudo must have stumbled onto something big, something he'd had to run from. It was inevitable, as good as he was. _The mob? Maybe...has he been in some sort of witness protection program? _He stared into the distance, chewing his lip. _If that's the case, though, why did he show himself? He must have known it'd be suicide..._

Hakuba rewound the tape to the beginning of the report. There was something immense here. He could feel it, he could practically _see_ it lurking between the lines of this news broadcast, but he was too exhausted from stress and fever to piece it together.

"--Kudo was found next to Kitasawa Industries's main office building earlier this morning--"

He watched the tape over and over, memorizing every word, every detail, trying to recall everything he'd ever heard about Kudo.

"--morning. No new information --"

What was he missing?

"--next to Kitasawa Industries's main office building --"

__

Kitasawa Industries, some small corner of his mind remarked. _That's not far from where I was last night. I might have even found the body if I'd taken a different route home._

Hakuba blinked and paused the tape. The back of his neck tingled.

__

Kudo...

It hit him suddenly, without warning.

"_Kudo? Kudo? What on God's earth would Kudo be doing here?"_

The remote fell from his hands and clattered to the floor.

__

Oh...no.

No, no, no, no...He fingers tightened into fists, gripping the blankets hard. "It can't be," he whispered aloud.

But even as he spoke, his mind was coldly listing the reasons why it _could _be, why it _had_ to be. Kudo had been missing for a year. He knew someone in Tokyo was after his life. What were the chances that he'd come back at all? And even if he did, what were the odds he'd turn up two streets away from the heist on the night that Kid decided to use him for a disguise?

Hakuba swung his legs over the side of his bed, only dimly noticing the dizziness that washed over him as he stood. He stumbled to his desk and pulled open the second drawer, which was full of papers. After several minutes of searching, he resurfaced with Aoko's cell phone number, which he had gotten from her several months earlier to use in some insanely complicated scheme he'd come up with to catch Kid. He grabbed his telephone, knocking his desk lamp to the floor, and jerkily punched in the number.

She answered after three rings.

"Hello?"

"I...sorry, it's...Saguru Hakuba. Is this Miss Nakamori?"

"Hakuba? Wh...class is about to start, what's this about?"

Hakuba swallowed hard. The physical exertion it had taken to walk across the room had left him trembling.

"Yes, I--I'm sorry. I'm sorry to call. But I need...plea..."

"You need what?"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop shaking. _It's not what you think. You've jumped to conclusions._

Aoko was starting to sound concerned. "You don't sound well--are you all right?"

__

He wouldn't have let this happen. He closed his eyes, steadying his voice. 

"I need to speak to Kuroba. Please...please put him on the line."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and he clenched his fists, his heart swelling with hope, with relief...

Then Aoko said, hesitantly, "Kaito...isn't here today. " She paused. "It's just...we were supposed to walk to school together, but his mother said that...he didn't come home last night..."

Slowly, Hakuba's body stopped trembling. He looked up at the ceiling, his vision swimming with another wave of dizziness as he tilted his head, watching with a sort of detached interest as a ladybug made its way across the room upside down.

"Hakuba?"

"Yes. Thank you."

He put down the phone.

__

Look at the facts, his intellect told him, in a pure voice unbiased by his emotions or desires. _It's the only logical conclusion._

He didn't answer it. For what seemed like a long time, he didn't say anything at all.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Heiji! Get your feet off my coffee table. What are you, in sixth grade?"

Heiji grinned as he drew back his legs and stretched his arms over the back of the couch. "I have a friend who wouldn't appreciate that remark."

Kazuha rolled her eyes as she turned back to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk. "You also have a friend who's been waiting for about a year now to go with you to Tropical Land."

"Fourth time's the charm," Heiji assured her.

"It had better be." Kazuha answered as she began opening cabinets. "God, what was it last time? People bursting into flames everywhere we went?"

Heiji pulled the remote out from between the cushions and flicked on the TV. "Rain."

"Ah." Standing on her tiptoes, Kazuha felt around on the top shelf and grabbed a large mixing bowl. "Do you want some pancakes or something before we leave? You know the food over there will be expensive."

"Sounds good," he answered, stifling a yawn and pausing with his finger on the channel button to watch Wile E. Coyote strap a refrigerator to his back. "I used to love Looney Tunes."

Kazuha smiled faintly as she shook pancake mix into the bowl. "I remember."

Heiji flipped through channels aimlessly. "It is nice outside today. Last time there was a teacher conference we ended up being snowed in, didn't we? There we go," he added, leaning back and tossing the remote onto the table.

"Yeah, hopefully there won't be too big a crowd since it's a weekday," Kazuha answered, stirring the mix as hard as she could. "It's a shame Ran and Detective Mouri couldn't co--" She froze. A woman's cheerful voice issuing from the television promised "the best coverage of this morning's top stories."

Kazuha scooped the mixing bowl into her arms and sprinted into the living room. "Hey! No! I don't even want you turning the news _on!_ We are going to Tropical Land today if it's the last thing I do!"

But even as she spoke, the headline "Unsolved Murder" appeared at the bottom of the screen, and the news anchors shuffled their notes, looking grave. "No new headway has been made in the case of a murdered high school student found earlier this morning near Kitasawa Industries office building in Tokyo. Inspector Megure, chief investigator--"

Heiji laughed as Kazuha let out a "Gaaaah!" of frustration. "Don't worry, I'm not going all the way Tokyo. That's Kudo's turf; he'll have whatever it is cleared up by lunchtime."

Kazuha rolled her eyes again as she walked back into the kitchen and resumed stirring. "For once I'm glad to hear his name."

"I'll tell him you said so," Heiji called back, grinning. "It's weird that this is a top story, though. Beats me why they even think we'd care about a murder all the way over in..." He fell silent.

Kazuha looked up curiously after a few seconds and craned her neck, trying to see into the living room. "Over in what?"

When he didn't answer, she set down her mixing spoon yet again and walked over to stand behind the couch, wiping her hands on her apron. "Heiji, what's the matter?" Heiji stared at the TV wordlessly, and she looked up at the screen, where a picture of the murdered teenager had appeared behind the newscaster.

"The body was that of high school student Shinichi Kudo, famous in the Tokyo area for assisting the police force in solving several difficult murders. Kudo was shot once in the chest, by an as-yet-unidentified weapon."

Heiji heard Kazuha gasp behind him. He gaped at the television, his mouth slightly open, feeling exactly as if he'd been hit in the stomach with a bag of rocks. _Kudo..._

There was nothing, some distant part of his brain noted, particularly remarkable about the corpse. It lay crumpled in an undignified heap on the concrete, a gaping hole in its chest where it had bled out onto the ground, face frozen in shock and disbelief like so many others he'd seen...

__

No complicated method of delivery, no hiding of the body, no ingenious cover-up, no clever attempt to make it look like a suicide...Just an ordinary shooting.

Boring.

Heiji swallowed, feeling suddenly as if he might be sick. Kudo...arrogant and self-absorbed, and brilliant, and brave, and in love...now, in the time it took to fire a gun, nothing more than a means to an end, a piece of evidence to be studied and then discarded once the killer had been found...He shut his eyes tight. _This can't be happening._

"Inspector Megure asks anyone who might have information on this case to come forward as soon as possible. It is hoped that closure may soon be brought to this tragedy."

__

Wait a minute. Heiji's eyes snapped open, a sudden thought cutting through the fog in his brain like a knife. _It...it _can't _be happening..._

Shinichi's corpse mercifully disappeared from the screen, and Heiji lifted his head slightly, shock slowly being replaced by confusion. _What...what's going on here?_

"Oh, my God..." Kazuha said softly, finally breaking the silence. "Oh, Heiji, I'm so sorry..."

"I need to make a phone call," Heiji said distantly.

She blinked at the abrupt request. "Of...of course," she answered, turning to fetch the telephone and pressing her lips together in worry. She paused halfway across the room and turned to look at him. "Are you all right?" she asked as gently as she could.

He was quiet for a few moments. When he looked up at her, there was something determined in his expression.

"I'm going to take a train."

Kazuha nodded, accepting this, then took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, acting under their unspoken agreement to remain calm. "I'm coming, too," she told him as she shrugged out of her apron and started down the hallway to her bedroom. "Ran will be..." She put a cool hand to her forehead and sighed. "_How_ could this happen?"

Heiji narrowed his eyes as he reached for his jacket.

"That's what I plan to find out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Aoko bit her lip as she switched off her phone. There was definitely something wrong with the conversation she'd just had. Hakuba was eccentric at best, but he was always cool and in control of himself, and his stammering on the other end of the line and the almost desperate edge to his voice were so out-of-character that it had nearly frightened her.

__

Kaito...isn't here today...

She glanced almost unconsciously at his empty desk. His absence was certainly noticeable. Kaito was generally well-liked by his classmates, but everyone, Aoko included, agreed that it was nice, every once in a while, to have class without the constant threat of your chair exploding from under you in a shower of confetti.

Aoko rested her chin on her hands. Why hadn't he come home last night? She wasn't as worried about that as she might be if it were someone else. Kaito did strange things, and they had included, more than once, deciding at the last minute to sleep in a tree, or under a bridge, or on top of a building. But he always turned up at school the next morning, with leaves or gravel caught in his hair, grinning as if he were spectacularly proud of himself. The corners of Aoko's mouth tugged upward. Somehow his smile lit up the whole room.

He was so confident, she thought, and, despite the way he acted sometimes, quite competent He could handle himself. Wherever he was, he was all right.

That decided, Aoko stretched and yawned, waiting for the bell to ring. She turned around in her seat to look at the clock and paused when her eyes fell across another strange sight.

Akako sat rigidly in her seat, her elbows on her desktop, her forehead resting on her fists. Her eyes were focused with almost frightening intensity on the blank surface of the desk in front of her, and her lips were pressed so tightly together that they were turning white.

As Aoko watched in slight concern, Akako took a shuddering breath, as if trying to calm herself, but all it seemed to do was make her even more tense. Aoko could see her long, elegant fingernails digging into the skin of her hands.

"Akako?" Aoko ventured tentatively. They knew each other only vaguely, and the one time Aoko could remember speaking to her they hadn't ended on the best of terms.

Akako's head jerked up at the sound of her name. She looked around rather wildly, her eyes finally resting on Aoko, who smiled nervously.

"Is...is everything all right?"

Akako stared blankly at her for a full five seconds, as if trying to process what she'd said. Then she blinked and seemed to give herself a mental shake. "Of course," she answered, giving Aoko an obviously forced smile. When Aoko kept looking at her, she made a vague hand gesture and asked brightly, "Who were you talking to just now?"

Aoko didn't roll her eyes, but it was a close thing. If that had been an attempt to sound normal, it was quite a poor one. Akako treated cheerfulness as if it were one of the seven deadly sins.

Aoko shrugged mentally. _If she doesn't want to talk about it..._"Hakuba," she answered with a rather bland smile. "He was asking about Kaito."

Akako nodded vaguely, and Aoko could tell her answer hadn't made it to the other girl's brain. She did roll her eyes a bit this time, and, deciding she'd had it with the lot of them, scanned the room for Keiko, who waved and started to make her way over.

Keiko sat down beside her and immediately started gushing about the latest boy she had a crush on. Aoko nodded and laughed in the right places, but she couldn't help glancing behind her one more time. Akako seemed to have sunk back into her original stupor and was now surreptitiously blowing her hair out of her face.

Suddenly, she looked up again, blinking in apparent confusion, and looked at Aoko.

"Did you say Hakuba asked you about Kuroba?" she demanded.

"Y-yes," Aoko answered, a bit taken aback at the sudden force in the other girl's tone.

Akako sat with her mouth open for a few seconds. Suddenly, she gripped her desk with both hands, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Shit," she hissed, and, to Aoko's astonishment, stood so quickly that she knocked her chair over and sprinted across the room and through the door, leaving her bag behind.

"Akako! The bell's about to ring!" Aoko called after her, not knowing what else to do, but Akako didn't even seem to hear her as she disappeared into the hallway. As Keiko gaped after her, Aoko chewed her lip and stared pensively once again at Kaito's empty desk. _What's the matter with everyone?_

She glanced out the window, where the morning sun had just emerged from behind the trees, spilling a heavy blanket of light over the classroom. _You're okay, aren't you?_

In the end, you're always okay...

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Conan bit his lip as he softly closed Ran's bedroom door. Kogoro had been in the process of putting her to bed when the downstairs phone had rung. He'd hesitated but had finally left to answer it, and Conan, not knowing what else to do, had finished tucking Ran in. When he had made her as comfortable as he could, he'd stood in the dark room watching her sleep for a moment, not wanting to leave her alone. Only when it occurred to him that the phone call Kogoro had received might be important did he reluctantly slip out of the room and creep back downstairs to the office.

Kogoro was leaning over his desk, talking in a low, tense voice to whoever was on the other end. He stopped talking abruptly, and there was a stretch of silence as he listened into the phone, closing his eyes tightly as if he could block out whatever was being said. As Conan watched, fascinated, he slowly lowered his forehead into his hands.

"Megure," he almost begged, "You're not going to ask me to do this..."

But it seemed Megure wasn't giving in; there was more silence as Kogoro stood hunched over his desk, unmoving. When he finally stood upright, he pushed the "end call" button without a word and replaced it in its holder, his eyes narrowed. He looked over at Conan, who looked away, somehow embarrassed at being caught watching.

"Conan," Kogoro said in a low voice, glancing up the stairs, "I need you to stay home from school today. Stay with Ran and make sure she's all right."

Conan's mind raced. Whatever else happened, he _had_ to make it to the crime scene. He followed Kogoro to the front door, his heart beating abnormally fast. "Where are you going?" he asked as Kogoro slid an arm into his suit coat.

Kogoro shut his eyes in exasperation and didn't answer. Conan ran around him and stood in front of the door, blocking it. "You're going to look at Shinichi, right?" he pressed.

"Conan, get out of the way," Kogoro snapped.

Conan didn't move. Kogoro's fists clenched. "For once," he said, obviously trying to stay calm, "for once, Conan, do what I tell you."

"I have to go with you," Conan insisted, looking stubbornly up at the older detective.

"You have t--" Kogoro started angrily, and shook his head, turning his back to Conan. He seemed to collect himself, and, turning, knelt to look him in the face. Conan, with some surprise, saw that he looked exhausted and rather miserable.

"You can't let her wake up alone," he said simply. Conan blinked, his mouth falling open slightly. _Ran..._He stared up at Kogoro, who continued to look intently into his face. And, almost unconsciously, he nodded.

Kogoro stood and opened the door. The pale, sickly light from the hallway slid into the room, swallowed up halfway by the buttery morning sunlight streaming in through the windows. He gave Conan one last glance.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

He left quickly, shutting the door behind him.

Conan stood in the entryway for several seconds as though in a trance, then slowly turned and made his way up the stairs. He peered into Ran's dark bedroom and hurried inside as he heard the faint rustle of blankets.

Ran was stirring; as Conan watched, she slowly opened her eyes and blinked, looking dazedly around the room before settling back onto her pillow and staring up at the ceiling.

Conan approached her nervously. "Ran?"

She didn't answer; in fact, she didn't seem to react at all. Conan hesitated, then pulled himself up onto the bed, so that he was sitting on his knees beside her. "Ran, are you OK?"

Still, she didn't say anything, and, looking down at her, Conan could see that she was crying. She seemed numb and sedated, letting the tears fall silently one after another, and this worried him far more than hysterics.

They sat like that for some time. Conan found that he was utterly at a loss. What on Earth could he say? He had no idea what was going on, and even if he _did_ break down and tell Ran who he was, as he was unconsciously steeling himself to do, how would she take it now? She might think he was lying, or worse, joking.

He bit his lip. Kogoro, for all his good intentions, had been wrong. He'd known that Ran would need comfort--but he thought that Shinichi Kudo was dead. What would he have said if he'd had all the facts? Conan shook his head. He needed to be downtown studying the crime scene and getting to the bottom of this, not awkwardly trying to give comfort to Ran, helping her cope with a reality he knew was a lie. The best way to help Ran now was to find out what had really happened.

He narrowed his eyes in determination. He would prove somehow that, whoever had been shot last night, Shinichi Kudo was very much alive.

He crawled over to Ran, trying to decide the gentlest way to put her back to sleep. He had just gotten his watch arm around her neck when she suddenly reached out and put her arms around him, drawing him close and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Conan jumped in alarm and turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were closed, and tears were still streaming down her face. She let out a tiny sob, the first sound she'd made since she'd woken up, and tightened her grip around him.

"Please...can you stay like this...just for a while?"

Conan said nothing, and felt the tension in his body slowly fade. He slid a hand behind Ran's head, tangling his fingers in her hair, and rested his face against her shoulder. She closed her eyes, and as the sun outside rose higher into the sky, he felt the rising and falling of her chest underneath him become slow and regular.

And when he finally raised himself up, taking care not to jar her, and she twitched and opened her eyes, just a slit, and said his name, he still said nothing, but brushed her face with his fingertips, the touch as soft and fleeting as the breath of a ghost.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N: (gasps for breath) That was...well, it ended up being harder to write than I thought. (grins) Don't expect them all to be this long. I'll update when I can, so please review with any suggestions!

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Review responses:

YumeTakato: Thanks for the reminder--I am in the habit of thinking about stories endlessly and not realizing how long it's been since I've updated. _I _thought about it yesterday, but you guys didn't. (grins) Kudos for getting the ball rolling.

klxzz: (is slightly overwhelmed) Wow. Thanks, I'm really glad you liked it. I thought Conan seeing himself dead was creepy, too--that's actually the image that got this fic started. I do plan to continue even though (this is a secret) I'm not entirely sure how I'll end it. Anyway, thanks for the enthusiasm; hope you enjoy!

Erinyes Star: Yeah, I'm getting the "No! You killed Kaito!" a lot. He is one of my favorites, honestly; I wouldn't do stuff like this to him if I didn't love him. (grins)

Luna-Kitsune-Blu: Thanks, that means a lot. I love good Detective Conan fics, and I'm flattered that you think this is one. I hope the wait between chapters isn't too long--I'm infamous around here for procrastination. Thanks for reviewing!

Lady Mirror: The gem will actually play quite an important role. (grins) I hope it's interesting; I've kind of been obsessing over it lately. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

gohanlover700: Thanks for your suggestion. I tend to want to be kind of an imagist writer, and my friends know I have trouble with stalling sometimes, or dwelling too long on images. I'll keep that in mind.

Snickerer: "Yep, should really check to see if the guy you're impersonating has people trying to kill him first." Hey! You took my line! I was gonna use that! (laughs) You know what, I still am going to use it. (grins) I'm glad you think the humor works; I don't want this to be totally depressing or anything, because that's not how the show is. Thanks for reviewing!

Ooshii Kurai: (blushes) Thanks! I'm a fan of your stories; I'm glad you liked this one. (grins) I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Fyliwion: Yeah...I kind of did have to kill him. It really wouldn't have worked any other way. But take heart; Shinichi's on the case now! (grins) Thanks for your compliment!

Flesi Kameez: Thanks; I hope the wait wasn't too long. I'm glad you like the idea; I did, too.

La-Longa: (laughs) It only _looks_ like I know what I'm doing...thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you like the way I write; the images and stuff that I use are a little too quiet for a lot of people. I hope you like this chapter!

SacredAliance: Thanks for reviewing. I put this under the "mystery" genre because it's a mystery to Conan, and because, believe it or not, this isn't the only mystery the immediate future holds for him. (grins) Thanks for the compliment; I love playing with words and I'm glad you think I can.

ryder77: (laughs) I want you to write my summaries from now on. Unfortunately, all of those questions are major no-no's at this point. I don't even know some of them yet. (grins) You might find out sooner than you think.

xeno: Haibara will be in the story, as a matter of fact. I debated whether or not to use her, since I've never seen her in the anime and have only read a handful of manga that include her. But I think I can use her to my advantage here. She won't play a major role or anything, but...

Michelle: Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you liked it; hope you enjoy this next one too!


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